sonny1

Yes,no SAI.
Sonny1.

1stgear

If they know what it is and the issues it can cause - no. I had a major issue with mine right when I bought my car. It got stranded in the POs garage before I could pick it up. I told him I wanted it fixed. He was a good guy and paid all costs for a new immobilizer.

Another plus of having it replaced is that immobilizers are hard to find and they cost more than the delete. I wish the PO would have just done the delete.

Bill Verburg

correct

to turn the whole thing off you need to have the DME mod and the relay mod

motion

My fob failed and left me stranded in the wrong part of Las Vegas last fall. Miraculously, I had another fob in my bonnet. Put in a new battery and I was on my way. Would have been ugly otherwise. I'm doing this mod soon.

nine9six

Insurance Co's give reduction in premiums for immobilizer anti-theft device. However, not enough to compensate for the potential headaches that may lie ahead.

Lorenfb

"To answer a few of the questions, yes, the immbolizer can fail leaving you stranded."

Not really! It's one of the most reliable ECUs in the 993.

pmalenfa

Same thing happened to me, one of my remote had a loose connector, car not unlocking. I was new to the car, I was able to unlock and tried to start with the key. The alarm started and I looked dumb. Back home I soldered the connector in the fob.

The remote is critical but it is not well made! Changing battery is not easy and getting additionnal ones is hard and expensive.

Kika

Are you having problems with yours?

I have not had any issues with mine, when it starts to get weak I change the remote battery. Guess I am one of the lucky ones.

993KT

Technically you are correctly, but I think people are referring to the immobilizer as a system and not just the ECU. The weakest link is the key fob and poor system design.

Just google 993 immobilizer and all the top hits are people trying to bypass it, internationally. That should tell you something. I tried searching for a factory solution within the OES, but it seems the ECU reflash from Steve + the relay is the way to go.

It's definitely a preventive / paranoia measure, but I don't think it's all that unreasonable.

Bill Verburg

You still need the fob to lock and unlock the car after the immobilizer is bypassed

Lorenfb

"You still need the fob to lock and unlock the car after the immobilizer is bypassed"

That's the key point! And if one raises the issue of reliability, the alarm unit ECU
(controls the locks, alarms, interior lights, cranking) has one of the highest
failure rates of all 964/993 ECUs.

Bottom line: Most it appears, focus on the wrong issue and waste $1000
when they could easily buy 3 spare remotes for the cost of the re-flash.
That would more than last the typical ownership period.

993KT

WAT! Can't I just use the key to lock/unlock the car? I removed the power lock already and was hoping I can just start the car with a key turn.

Bill Verburg

The alarm is still there, that has nothing to do w/ the immobilizer, so you work the locks as you do now, I always just use the key fob to lock it, once when the battery in the fob died I tried to unlock w/ the key which set off the alarm, I don't know if they all do that or not. I carry a spare battery in my truck as the only time I lock it is when it's left overnight outdoors at a track.

Mike J

Like Bill, I also carry a spare battery for the Fob, a small screwdriver to get access to the Fob, and an encrypted note with my car's code so I can hand enter it via the ignition key if I really get into trouble. On any trip outside the city, I also carry a spare key fob....

That being said, I have never been stranded and never had to use the emergency kits -- ok now I have jinxed it!

Cheers,

Mike

Lorenfb

"I always just use the key fob to lock it, once when the battery in the fob died I tried to unlock w/ the key which set off the alarm, I don't know if they all do that or not."

Use of the key to unlock the door will also disable the alarm, i.e. the unlock signal from the door
goes to the alarm ECU. Remember, the lock/unlock sequence is part of the remote coding process
and disables the alarm once the coding process begins. Also, the unlock door signal is
an input to the immobilizer ECU.

A better mod for some would be a mod of the immobilizer ECU to command the DME ECM
to enter the 'run' mode any time the remote is used or the key unlocks the door.